Saturday, 31 October 2009

The Clachaig Inn has long been associated with the GMRT, one of the busiest mountain rescue teams in the country. Whilst made up entirely of volunteers, the team relies heavily on donations to keep running, and for many years we’ve had collection tins in the bars at Clachaig.

However, in an attempt to do more, we’ve set up a scheme to allow you good folk out there to help us raise more funds every time you shop online. And the best bit? It won’t cost you a single penny! Furthermore, it only takes a few seconds of your time. “How?” You may ask. See our web site for more details.

So, get the kids to bed, light the fire, grab a drink, and get your Christmas shopping sorted from the comfort of your armchair. Sure, your credit cards might take a hit, but take some comfort in the knowledge that at the same time you’ve helped a worthy cause.

Saturday, 24 October 2009

Regular visitors to Clachaig are well aware of our unique weather patterns and given the wet summer we've just had it's anyones guess what autumn will throw at us, so we were pleasantly surprised last Friday, the first day of our Autumn beer festival, to wake to a beautiful day, not a breath of wind, the sun high in the sky and the Glen packed with walkers and climbers making the most of the glorious weather.

In our Boots Bar we had the fires lit and all 15 hand pulls primed for action with a great selection of beer from Williams Bros, Hebridean, Cairngorm, Traditional Scottish Ales, Houston, and Isle of Skye breweries.

Opening night's entertainment saw the return of old Clachaig favourites, the Marauders. Hailing from Glasgow they rocked the Boots Bar, so loud they almost knocked the whisky bottles off the top shelf!!

Saturday we added new additions to the hand pulls, the most exciting being a new ale from Traditional Scottish Ales, Aleoween! Brewed with fresh pumpkin to produce exciting almond and caramel flavours, the pints flew over the bar! Music came from the madcap local bunch 'Anyone for Gravy' A great night was had by all. Sunday was a more casual affair with Scott MacDonald playing his laid back tunes.

Tuesday we welcomed whisky specialist Gerry Brown from Gordon & Macphail who entertained a very knowledgeable group of visitors including residents from Holland & the USA on the complexities of our national drink.

Thursday, 8 October 2009

Monday, 5 October 2009

Regurgitating stuff from elsewhere on the web is something we try to avoid. However, as this story really isn't ours at all (though it is very pertinent to Glencoe, Scotland) it seems most appropriate to simply point you in the right direction...

Ok, so it's a cracking day at Nevis Range, but I couldn't immediately put my hands on a Glencoe ski photo.

The Press & Journal reported on Saturday that the future of White Corries, the Glencoe ski area and the oldest of the Scottish ski 'resorts', is in doubt. And not for the first time.

Thursday, 1 October 2009

Time for a bit of feedback, please. We know you're reading. The counter tells us you are. Yes, nearly 10,000 of you so far this year. So, how about just leaving us a comment at the foot of this item? We need to know whether you think this sign is an iconic part of Clachaig and should be preserved, or whether we're just being a bit sentimental and it would make a rather hefty chunk of firewood.

October already and despite the fact that we're still very busy we've been tunring our attentions to some of the many jobs that we need to get stuck in to in the 'quiet' season. We've got a few fairly major items on the list and we're working through each to try and allocate a priority and a budget. Don't like to say too much as when it doesn't happen, for whatever reason, it doesn't look too good.

However, this sign has definitely been on the list for a few years now. A few patches, repaints and a little bit of wishful thinking isn't going to stop the rot after decades of exposure to the Glencoe weather. Time to consider its future!

P.S. If you're not sure which way to vote; icon/firewood why not take a peak at Flickr, search for Clachaig and see how often it appears?!

Clachaig Inn, Glencoe, Scotland

Welcome to the GlencoeScotland Blog

We know that Glencoe means many things for many people. And we know that we're really fortunate to live and work here.

So the Glencoe Scotland Blog is intended to be a little window on our world. Some of it is work, some of it simply pleasure. Along with blatant plugs to get you to come and spend your pennies, there's plenty of local interest too.